1141

 Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson ex F.A.Zorn) Fosberg

 

Synonym	:	Artocarpus incisus (Thunb.)L.f.,
Family	:	MORACEAE.
Local name	:	Malayalam- . . Kadachakka,
Flowering and fruiting period	:	January-June
Distribution	:	Native of Pacific Islands.
Distribution in kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Cultivated.
Uses	:	The fruit is nutritious and a valuable staple food
Key Botanical Characters; Evergreen trees, to 10 m high. Leaves simple, alternate; stipule 10-25 cm long, lateral; petiole 3-6 cm long, stout, brown tomentose; lamina 10-60 x 8-30 cm, broadly ovate, pinnatifid, base decurrent, apex acuminate, lobes oblong, margin of each lobes entire or dentate-serrate, chartaceous, sericeous-pubescent along the nerves above, densely beneath; lateral nerves 8-12 pairs, pinnate, intercostae scalariform, prominent. Flowers unisexual; spikes on the main branches; male catkin: 8-20 x 1-2 cm, pendent, oblong-cylindric; flower: perianth 2 mm, glabrous, bilobed; stamen 1; filament to 2 mm; anthers oblong; female spike: 4-8 x 3-6 cm; perianth 2 mm; ovary superior, 0.2 mm, obovoid; stigma simple. Fruit a sorosis 15-20 x 10-15 cm, oblong or round, set with conical process; peduncle 4-12 cm; seeds 1.5-2.5 cm, oblong-cylindric (seed formation is very rare).